United Trust Bank Comments on the Autumn Budget Statement

26 November 2025

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, has delivered the Government’s Autumn Budget Statement.

Adam Bovingdon, Managing Director - Property Development at United Trust Bank (UTB), comments on the changes with reference to housebuilding and the property market.

"After a long wait and an early glimpse from the OBR, the 2026 Autumn Budget Statement is now behind us. Whilst it brought no major incentives for housebuilding, clarity is better than the uncertainty that has loomed over recent months. The so-called ‘mansion tax’ has grabbed headlines and would have created far less news without this emotive nickname. If it was called what it is, an increase in council tax for high value homes representing less than 1% of households in the UK, most people would have dismissed it as largely irrelevant to the general public.

“Hopes for a revised SME Help to Buy scheme and a stamp duty break for first-time buyers have faded, yet some form of stimulus would help to encourage the market and could be justified as an investment for growth.

“Data from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) shows the previous Help to Buy scheme delivered strong returns. Many repaid loans generated about 9% uplift, early redemptions brought millions in interest, and the scheme is projected to return more than £2bn to the Exchequer. For a government focused on growth and committed to housebuilding, reintroducing a targeted Help to Buy initiative would be a welcome and logical step.”